WOLFGANG GÄFGEN

Overview

The graphic work by Wolfgang Gäfgen (born 1936 in Hamburg) encompasses more than fifty years. From the very beginning it combined the meticulous observation skills of his contemporaries with a virtuosity in drawing, something exemplary in contemporary art and still rarely seen today. His interest in superficies transforms quite unremarkable everyday things into exquisite precious items, which have set aside their original functional purpose to develop a defiantly ironic life of their own. Here, Gäfgen’s drawings, along with his printed graphics and photography, which form the core of his artistic oeuvre, will be extensively acknowledged for the very first time.

After studying in Hamburg and Stuttgart (1956–1961) Wolfgang Gäfgen moved to Paris. In 1977 he participated with a block of drawings in documenta 6. From 1983 to 2002 he held a professorship at the State Academy of Art and Design in Stuttgart.

Wolfgang Gäfgen is represented in numerous museums and collections, including the Staatsgalerie Stuttgart (DE), Hamburger Kunsthalle (DE), Fondation Maeght, Saint Paul-de-Vence (FR), Bibliothèque nationale de France, Paris (FR), Kiasma Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki (FI), The Museum of Modern Art, New York (US) and The National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo (JP)